Oldest Captain, Youngest Avenger
by SnowAurora
Summary: Steve's selflessness and poor self-esteem gets himself into trouble in a mission gone wrong- during the aftermath, it strikes the team that their impressive captain is both the oldest and youngest member in the group, and he also somehow has a lot of unnecessary doubts about himself.
1. The Unpleasant Mission

_A/N: The upcoming Captain America 3 has really sparked me to write a fluffy family fic, I can't wait to see how the MCU handles Civil War with so little characters compared to the comics~ Anyway, this is my first ever fanfiction, so I apologise if it's not too great compared to the other amazing stories out there, but please review and give comments/suggestions on how I can improve!_

—

 **Chapter One- The Unpleasant Mission**

—

"See, this is why we should have gone with my plan, then we could've avoided all of this mess." Tony struggled to yell over the loud noises of both the Hulk's occasional roaring and his repulser blasts annihilating the enemies as he shot from robot to robot.

"If we went with either of your plans we would have lost all of this valuable information on HYDRA in a colourful blast." Natasha says holding up the hard-drive that had just finished downloading from the HYDRA database.

"You're speaking as if the Billionaire playboy genius philanthropist couldn't have recovered the information" Tony states fending off the last wave of incoming robots. "With the help of JARVIS."

"You see, I don't doubt JARVIS a single bit" Clint says aiming his arrow through the narrow holes of broken machinery. "But this is HYDRA we're talking about, SHEILD would have done it by now if it was possible. Come on Tony, just because you missed one of your dates with Pepper doesn't mean it's the end of the world." Releasing his arrow, it shoots right through one of the metal robot's core with incredible precision. Tony subconsciously flinched at that action, an arrow like that could easily penetrate his suit in a similar circumstance.

"Fine, that's another point to the star spangled man with a plan." Tony retorts, he wouldn't go down without a tease.

In a distance, an already alarming voice grows louder and louder. "Worthy Captain, even with the many years of battling in Asgard, I could not have created such a flawless plan." Thor boomed as he crashes through the railings of the top deck, crushing multiple robots on the way. He lifts Mjolnir from the dented ground and casually tossed it from hand to hand, evading the burst of flying bits and pieces of, god knows what, from Hulk's sudden punch through the wall- he's getting better at this, both of them.

"In some way Capsicle, this plan seems almost too perfect." Tony says in a sarcastic tone of voice, although he means it as a compliment.

Despite the fact that Steve usually stays silent during the casual conversations between his teammates in battle, Steve had been paying attention to the mildly distracting compliments that makes him want to hide his flushed, shy face, causing him to accidentally hit his head against the enemy robots multiple times. On top of that, he is also keeping up with the complaints from Howard Stark's son. "It usually isn't a good sign if a plan works perfectly, but don't worry Tony- I never got to the last date I promised, but I'll make sure you get back to Pepper in one piece." The Super Soldier grins and tosses his shield towards Natasha, the spy immediately ducks and avoids a deadly whack in the head; the rebound of the shield finishes off the last lingering robot behind her.

"Could've handled that myself." Natasha states, slipping a knife back into one of the well hidden pockets of her camouflaging outfit. "But thanks anyway." By now, each of the Avengers were getting more and more comfortable around each other, and even though Natasha isn't usually the one to thank people, and isn't usually the one that needs saving, it's clear that she's glad that her teammates are looking after her.

"That's the last of them right?" Clint says, lowering his bow and taking a final sweep around the room.

"It would appear so." Thor says, lowering his hunched and intimidating back into a more relaxing position.

"That was easier than I expected, I mean don't get me wrong, but HYDRA's plans are getting more and more predictable." Tony lifts his faceplate, revealing a smug smirk that he carries very often nowadays. "Honestly, we're so early I think I can make it back to Pepper if we get going now."

Suddenly, a deafening roar interrupts the group's momentary celebration, they quickly search for the source of the sound, and within seconds landed their eyes on the fallen green giant. A flicker of brown in his eyes, the Hulk stands up and roars louder, it is clear that he is trying to control himself from absolutely destroying everything, but it is also clear that he is extremely angry and annoyed at his pained body. He furiously stomps his feet looking for his unknown attacker, heavily vibrating the ground with each step and somehow tilting the supposingly steady HYDRA base to one side.

Iron Man hovers in this instant, but the others struggle to keep their balance, and Steve quickly realises the possible dangers of crashing a flying HYDRA base. And as the Captain of a team, it is important to keep the face of bravery, and the "everything is fine and I've got this under control" kind of face, but this situation seems a bit too familiar for Steven Grant Rogers to remain completely calm. Luckily, it seems that the team hasn't noticed anything particular, anything wrong with their leader, yet. A thought appears at the back of Steve's mind: if anything happens he won't be alone this time, but he cannot comprehend and decide whether this is a good thing or not, so he decides that the best thing to do is to get the team out as soon as possible.

Steve slowly approaches the enraged Hulk while holding up his shield for defence, he notices a small circle of blue skin, probably some kind of injury, near the feet of his teammate. Clearly, this isn't the angriest Hulk has ever been, but at this moment where they are basically stranded on a hovering aircraft, this Hulk has the ability to wipe out the entire team.

"Hey Big Guy, calm down." Steve states slowing, in a calming tone that hides his panic over the dangerous situation. Seeing another flicker of brown, the Super Soldier takes off his cowl and lowers his shield to reveal that he is unarmed, hoping that that will help calm the Other Guy down. The Hulk seems to relax a bit at this movement, and his teammates follows Steve's action, lowering their weapons- even though being completely defenceless against the most undefeatable Avenger is a dangerous act, they believe in their Captain- theres nothing he can't do… right?

"I'm Steve." he continues, watching the green giant twitch threateningly. "More people know me as Captain America, and whatever happens I'll make sure we catch that bastard that hurt you." the Captain says while holding out a hand, slowly placing it on Hulk's shoulder.

The Hulk flinches at the contact of skin, whatever is hurting him better stop or he might rip this base apart along with his teammates. As much as Hulk is resisting, he spreads his arms out and continues rampaging, unaware that he had accidentally flicked his captain across the room.

The others watch in horror as the green monster roars louder and louder, knowing that if this doesn't work they will have to calm down the Hulk by force, or go down with him.

"Cap!" Tony yells, concern hidden in his voice, annoyed that he won't be able to send in the Hulk buster to such a fragile location.

Steve closes his left eye as red liquid obscures his vision, but in a short while he catches another glimpse of a pair of flickering brown eyes. "Stay out of this!" he yells in a hurry, confident that Bruce is trying his best to defy The Other Guy's actions. "Now, we don't want to crash this hovering plane do we?" Steve says in an unnaturally calm voice for the current situation. Hulk lets out another roar when spotting the injured Captain on the floor, somewhat softer this time, suggesting that he understands and trusts the man in front of him. He relaxes, concerned and regretful realising that he had hurt the man that had trusted and protected him multiple times in the past.

Silence fills the room, the only thing audible is the sound of a ticking clock hung at the end of the HYDRA office.

Every second feels likes an eternity.

"No" he finally says, or at least that's what Steve hears.

At this sight, the Avengers let out a breath that they didn't know they were holding.

"Not as easy as a mission you thought, eh Tony?" Clint says in a joking manner, trying to confine his concerns for their injured teammate, brightening the mood and relieved that this is probably the least damage the Hulk could have done in this situation, not that it was good that the Hulk decide to fling their Captain across the room like the defenceless little kid he was once when his father was drunk.

Their captain is really impressive, and Clint is sure that he's not the only one thinking so.

Before Tony could reply, the sudden movement, and the sound of metal against metal can be heard along with another subtle sound of someone saying "Shit", and it alarms the team so much that they subconsciously drew out their lowered weapons. In normal circumstances, Steve would have corrected whoever that was with something along the lines of "Language!", but incase you can't tell this really isn't a normal situation.

The flash of gold and red can't really be missed, besides, the slither of electricity running wild through copper wires is also easily noticeable through the serum enhanced hearing of the Super Soldier.

"Oh my god I thought I fixed the magnet problem already." Tony says as he tries to free himself from the unusually strong force defying gravity. Steve looks up and the rest of the Avengers join him, Hulk included. "Uh…" before Tony can finish his sentence, a sound of what can only be described as "ear-bleeding static" interrupts him.

"Bravo, such a heartwarming, emotional scene! Well done to you Captain, I expected to knock out at least a few more of you all with this mess." The unknown voice is unusually dark and creepy, like something that came from a standardised psychopathic killer villain from a movie. "Well, you were all a lot stronger than I've predicted, more than what I have told the original HYDRA idiots to be carful of- I've already taken account of the Captain's flawless planning and the destructiveness of Thor and Hulk, but I guess I really can't underestimates the saviour of New York… Avengers, do you want to play a game?"

In a weird way, the Avengers relaxes, keeping in mind that an enraged Hulk is probably the most difficult thing they'll ever encounter today. "What is this? Saw?" Clint retorts and receives a painful jab from Natasha. "Ouch!" but his next saying immediately turns into a mutter when Natasha basically death stares him. "Ok fine I'll shut up."

Another awfully generic laugh surrounds the Avengers, sending a chill behind each of their backs. "It's good to see that you're all up to joke in a situation like this, and really you guys don't have a choice because the game has already started long when you guys entered the base."

"Care to explain it?" The Captain says in a strict, demanding manner despite his injuries.

"Glad you asked Captain. You see tin man there is basically stuck to the ceiling unless if you make it through my game, I guarantee you Hulk won't be able to pull him out after that injection I gave him." The Hulk growls in response, angry that this voice caused him pain, and indirectly caused his Captain pain. Upon hearing the growl, the voice ignores it to continue. "Considering the situation, I'll make the game much easier, something centred around our bravely injured captain. Something tells me that he's basically the centre of the team, so all I want is for all of you to use your weapons to attack your Captain at full force- simple right?" Although not visible in anyway, the Avengers easily imagine a evil smirk on the villain's face when he says "simple right?"

"What makes you think we'll play along with that idiotic game of yours?" Tony says in a angry tone. "I'm sure we can figure out how to get me off really easily no matter how strong that magnet of yours is." Tony doesn't really know what triggered him to be so angry, perhaps it was the thought of a whinny villain interfering with his date with Pepper- or maybe it was because a stupid villain decided to not only risk the lives of his teammates, but also ended up injuring one. Most likely both, with the addition of a stupid whinny villain ordering them to harm The Greatest Soldier in History. Tony almost ends up spitting at these thoughts to show his disrespect, only to realise that there isn't a clear direction in which the voice coming from.

"I'd watch my language if I were you." The voice snaps. "You see, the catch is, this base is about to explode in about 5 minutes, and if you don't satisfy me enough, I might as well blow this place right now. You can try to escape, but I don't think any of you will do well without flight plunging down 9000 meters into the ocean- really, sacrificing one for the lives of 5 is pretty worth it if you ask me." The voice continues to laugh, knowing that if the team of Avengers ever lose their Captain in such a way, it'll scar them… forever.

Steve wiggles himself out of the dented wall upon hearing this, observing the faces of his furious teammates, carefully contemplating on this matter.

A situation like this is far too similar to his past, as if really the villain had targeted Steve the entire time.

As much as he hates being beaten up by his beloved teammates, Steve would much prefer for that to happen than to have the rest of his teammates die with him in an agonising explosion or though a plunge into the ocean that had taken everything from him. He knows, a "captain" like him is easily replaceable, after all, he's just a tough science experiment, everything he has came out of a bottle.

Steve has known from the start, he doesn't deserve such a loving team, all the love he deserved had ended the moment he plunged into the ocean 70 years ago. The only lost for the team would be losing a human shield, and someone to call Captain during a fight, which considering the ability and bond between the team, isn't much. Sure he was flattered when the team complimented him for his plans, but really if Tony had at least tried he would have done the same, if not better. Sure he had calm the Hulk down moments ago, but the team would have probably escaped themselves without the need of injuring anyone in the process, just listen to how the team jokes in battle, he himself can barely focus when listening to them, much less talk and playfully insult each other in comparison to all his experienced teammates.

Maybe, his teammates are just being polite while pretending to contemplate with the rules of this psychopath.

"Sure. But do promise that you'll let them go." Steve says, once again, all too calmly for a situation like this.

Immediately Steve can hear protest from his teammates, but ignores them firmly knowing his position amongst them.

Theres no reason as to why they wouldn't do it, if they let the base explode Steve may survive, but it's certain that Natasha and Clint, and maybe even Tony, wouldn't. Now why they do that, in exchange of only his worthless life?

"Fantastic!" The voice seams delighted."Now may I have you stand in that white square on the ground?" As he finishes his sentence, Tony is released from the magnet to drop, and Steve approaches the white square. "I admire you Captain, I really do." Says the voice once again. "But I'm pretty sure your teammates would rather have this place explode than to have to harm you in anyway, so say goodbye!"

Before Tony can drop and fall face first onto the ground, the ground disappears, literally, and the rest of the Avengers drop. Tony watches in horror, as he watches everyone fall, except for their Captain. The unknown voice grows quieter and quieter as they fall farther and farther down, but all the Avengers can clearly hear "What is it like to watch your Captain, the centre of the team explode into bits and pieces?"

Every single member tries to look away, pushing down the tears that threaten to come out from the corner of their eyes, but helplessly watches as the base is engulfed in red flames.

—

 _A/N: This took a turn because I basically ended up torturing Steve- I'm sorry but it'll be a good build up to the Steve angst and team fluffiness later on._

 _I hope I've made it clear the reason why Steve misunderstands things, he doesn't know how his teammates feel, and it's really hard to judge from the words of his experienced teammates as they're all experts at hiding their emotions really well, Steve's poor self-esteem believes that he is not as amazing as the rest of the team, and can be replaced easily, therefore giving up quickly at the end of the mission._

 _Gosh, I feel like it is really hard to portray the different character's personality, I hope the characters didn't seem OC like- there aren't a lot of lines for Thor/Bruce because of this, and yes I can't help but apologise for that too._

 _The next chapter that will come soon, probably depending on how many people read this and want more?_


	2. A Cruel Joke

_A/N: Wow, thank you all so much for the support 3 Because of this I decided to post another chapter for you guys, but please note that the one after this one may take some time because my exams are literally in 2 days... Anyway, I'll talk more at the end of this chapter, lets get right into it!_

—

 **Chapter Two- A Cruel Joke**

—

The Sky is fading. The dull, yet beautiful sky, is fading.

It's dark.  
It's damp.  
It's cold.

When can I escape from this awfully familiar nightmare of reality?

It hurts, it hurts, it hurst. Both physically and mentally. It hurts.

At least this is the end… Right?

Steve shivers.  
Steve shivers as he falls, sinking lower and lower into the ocean, slowly eating him away. Once again being engulfed by the never ending void. Once again choking and drowning in the sea of blues. Once again leaving his loved ones, once again leaving his life behind.

Steve shivers.  
Steve shivers as he is faced with his worst fear- it's terrifying, the way his lungs are being filled with thick, cold water. He takes another large gulp of water, intentionally this time, hoping that it would kill him faster. But. it doesn't, he chokes on the water, and he can almost feel the chair pressing against his back as he clenches his teeth and crashes his plane hearing the soft sobs of Peggy on the other side. He can almost feel the impact of when he is thrown out of the seat and slammed onto the cold metal ground of the plane. He can almost feel himself being frozen over again, because god forbid it's winter again! Steve is scared, Steve. Is. Scared. Steve is scared as he swallows more and more water, he almost wishes that he hadn't taken off his cowl or he would be clutching it hard as he sinks deeper and deeper into the abyss.

He doesn't move, he just stares, he's choking remembering the days when he had asthma, and even when he got pneumonia he never felt so cold when his mother and Bucky was by his side.

.

.

.

Steve just lets the ocean take him away.

.

.

.

The cruel ocean slowly letting him plummet and drift into the depths of nothingness.

Steve shivers.  
Steve shivers not because of the aching pain that continuously burns through and around his body. Steve shivers not because he has to leave the team that he doesn't deserve. Steve shivers not because he has to leave the team that he doesn't deserve. Steve shivers not because of the things that he's missed through his outstretched life.

Steve shivers.  
Steve shivers because of this fitting end to his life. He can finally revisit his old life. Reunite with The Howling Commandos, his best friend Bucky, and the love of his life Peggy Carter. Steve doesn't mind if he has to go back to becoming the weak and scrawny kid living in Brooklyn, because no matter how strong and amazing he is on the outside, he is still the weak and pre-serum Steve on the inside- he always has been, no matter how many people tell him he's not. Sure he won't be able to lift rocks and run miles to help the people he wants, but thats fine.

Because he's tired.  
Because he has a dance to go to.  
Because this is the end… right?

Maybe he has never lived a life as an Avenger.  
Maybe it's just a rushed hallucination from the shock of crashing a plane into the icy cold waters.

In the end it doesn't matter.

Because this is the end… right?

Steve stops shivering. He lets his tears mix and disappear with the surprisingly calm sea.  
Steve waits for his life to end.  
His vision blurs and fades, a flicker of green in the blue, and into darkness he sinks.

Because this is the end… right?

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Steve's eyes flutter open to the synchronising and rhythematic sound of consistent beeping.

His vision is a blur, his body is numb, and no matter how much he blinks it didn't seem like he could focus on his surroundings.

Steve tries to twist his body, but he seems tangled in sorts. He tries to recall his memory, but it seems all over the place as well. Not able to figure out his location, he tries a different approach and looks at himself, and he notices vague blobs of white lines connecting him to some sort of large machinery. He is also only wearing a pair of trousers, apparently, because his upper body is covered with multiple layer soft white bandages that he cannot feel.

Before Steve's mind could wander off into figuring out the greatest mysteries of life, the sound of a twisting knob drags him back into "reality".

A door opens, somewhere, and a figure walks in.

"…ve…re…awake?"  
Steve can barely make out the words, but it seems like someone is talking to him.  
He tries to lift his head, but a wave of pain instantly hits him in the head.

"Jar…c…ll…e…thers!"  
The person sounds excited, and also a bit worried.

"Where am ?" Steve manages to say, using his arms to support himself to sit up before ever so slightly titling his head.

"…edical…ng…ield."

Medical...wing... Shield?

.

.

.

The slow and synchronising beeps starts to become erratic.

.

.

.

No, no NO. NOT AGAIN. NEVER NEVER NEVER THIS CAN'T HAPPEN, AGAIN.  
Tears threaten to spill out of his eyes because this. can't. happen. again.  
He can feel something slowly rising from his stomach because this. can't. happen. again.

.

.

.

"… Where am I really?" Steve manages to choke out before he takes off running.

 _A/N: I know it's a bit short, really short but I don't want you guys waiting so long especially after all the support I've been getting! (It's not much, but means a lot to me ^^) I promise the next chapter will be longer and filled with fluff from the whole team! But it may take some time (probably at least a week)._  
 _I tried to mirror Steve's reaction to when he woke up in New York at the end of Captain America: The First Avenger, and I also tried to mirror Steve's panic with the ups and downs... does that even make sense to you guys? xD_

 _But really, thank you to all the people that left reviews, all of them are so sweet, it doesn't matter how short it is, even as a guest a single word powers me to get this story out there. Also thank you to the people that favourited and decided to follow this story, if you did all three, you're the real MVP!_


	3. Family Gathering

_A/N: I'm finally back with the third chapter! This took longer than I expected because I spent most of my time just plain out relaxing after the exams (to be honest I still don't know how I survived.) But yes, again, before I start rambling lets get on with the chapter! I'll have my random talk at the end xD_

 _*Note that the italics signifies a flashback, and there will be some disturbing scenes in this chapter when I describe injuries, so be warned! (I've tried my best to not make them disgusting but being in an explosion usually doesn't leave pretty injuries.) Also, beware of the "Language!"_

—

Chapter Three- Family Gathering

—

All the Avengers immediately stopped whatever they were doing once they received JARVIS's call.

It has been two weeks since the incident, and their captain has been unconscious since. To a certain degree, each of the Avengers felt guilty even though there was nothing much they could have done in that unpleasant situation.

—

 _Iron man tried to look away but watched in horror as he saw Captain America being engulfed in flames, however, a flash of green brought him back._

 _Tony was the last to fall,but the Hulk ended up above him. This was because the Hulk decided to jump the moment the floor "disappeared", whether it was out of instinct or because he was worried about Steve he didn't know, but he jumped and managed to grab hold onto the square floor that kept intact._

 _And in that moment the HYDRA base tilted, and Tony heard Steve's call._

 _Somehow audible in the enormous amounts of explosions, came a voice saying: "Save them first!"_

 _Under the circumstance, Tony didn't really have the time to figure out whether that was in fact Captain America shouting, or just a voice in his head. But, it didn't matter, because it was definitely something Steve would say, so Iron Man immediately flipped over to search for his falling teammates, and saw a small flick of red, blue, white and green from the corner of his eyes._

 _As Tony accelerated by straightening his body, a little swirl of rage built up inside of him, and it wasn't entirely directed to the obnoxious villain._

'Steven Grant Rogers. Captain fucking America. A selfless idiot that unnecessary risks his life to protect everyone else but himself. This isn't the first time! He is so getting punched when he comes back out of this.'

 _Tony used his scanner to locate the rest of his falling teammates, to his surprise Thor somehow ended up a lot lower than the other two falling assassins despite all of them being dropped down at the same time. You would think his cape would have kept him higher, or maybe he could have recovered by using Mjolnir but instead he was just falling._

 _Then again, this really isn't the time to question logic because **they're plunging 9000 meters into the ocean right now.** _

_So he decided to fire up the repulsers on his feet and went to grab Clint and Natasha that were at a closer distance. Weirdly enough, the more Tony stared, the more "spaced out" the two of them looked- even though they were no doubt two of the most skilled assassins that were always able to conceal their emotions, this time it was different. Eyes don't lie, and even with the lack of experience Tony could tell that there was fright in their eyes, and it clearly wasn't just because of the fall._

 _The impact of cold metal against skin seemed to bring the two assassins back and away from the aircraft- for a while, only the sound of rushing wind can be heard, then came more sounds of fire, explosions, and destruction in general._

 _"Thanks." came a distracted voice._

 _This seemed to lighten up the mood ever so slightly. "Wow, thats the second time you've said thanks in a single mission" Tony said in a surprised tone of voice. "I'm impressed."_

 _And then he was immediately rewarded by a heavy kick from Natasha._

 _"Hey Ow! Watch it, if I fall we all do!" Tony said as he tighten his grip and tried to rebalance himself._

 _"Fuck." Clint finally said, looking back at both of them._

 _"Thats a pretty delayed reaction."_

 _"Where's Hulk and Thor?" Natasha asked, already back to normal her calm composured self, and too tired and worn out to deal with the "clever" quips from the two kids._

 _"Last time I saw the Big Guy he was up there, and—-"_

 _"Thor is down there" Clint said cutting off Tony's sentence, pointing towards the falling figure. "He doesn't have Mjolnir with him."_

 _"Well why didn't you say so earlier?"_

 _Although Thor was an almighty god, he still had his limits, especially when he didn't have his equally almighty hammer with him. "Hang tight" Tony said and continued flying(falling?) lower._

 _As they came into a closer distance, they heard Thor's surprisingly quiet voice._

 _"Finally." he said along with a little grunt at the end of a muttered sentence._

 _By then, they were getting really close to the ocean. Tony continued faster and blasted his way towards Thor, using his right arm to wrap around Clint and Natasha, and then his left to reach for Thor's cape. The moment he placed his hand on the bright red flickering cape however, he immediately dropped, faster, without the help of his repulsers, as if he suddenly held on to a 100kg weight. He flipped around and aimed his feet towards the ocean and tried to fly upwards._

 _"Thor! Is this you or is it the hamme—" And Tony was cut off the second time as he plunged down into the huge body of salty water._

 _Despite Iron Man's last struggle, the huddled Avengers still sank pretty deep down into the ocean. For the first time they seemed to forget all about their concerns for personal space and held onto together tightly throughout. Not long after resurfacing, the metal debris from the broken ship started showering over the Avengers._

 _"We must leave." Thor said in the quiet voice, it was strangely discomforting compared to his usual loud and booming voice that the Avengers sometimes complained about._

 _"What about Steve? And Hulk?" Natasha asked in concern, staring up at the sky._

 _"We'll trust the Green Giant, theres nothing we can do so we better get out." Clint said, uncharacteristically patting Natasha on the back._

 _"I'll call in the quinjet, we'll have to stay away before this raining stops."_

—

Similar to Coulson's death when the Avengers first assembled, they all found reasons to blame and doubt themselves, even though really it was no one's fault, and every single Avenger heavily respected each other.

Bruce visited Steve the most often, in addition to being both a friend and teammate, he also visited on behave as a doctor. Steve had horrible injuries, really horrible injuries, even though his Super Serum can probably still guarantee an one hundred percent recovery, his enhanced metabolism also made anaesthetics really useless. Bruce had to visit often to check on Steve's condition, examine his blood for irregularities, and check to see whether or not more of the elephant-killing-drugs were needed to numb the injury.  
After being filled in by the others upon waking up from The Other Guy, Bruce felt incredible guilty even though he was also responsible for saving Steve's life.

Thor on the other hand, was disappointed in himself- as a god, he felt like it was a disgrace that he needed to be saved, and blamed himself for dropping Mjonir at a crucial moment. If he hadn't, the team would have all avoided the last minute plunge, and… perhaps he could have saved Steve from the explosion. For the past two weeks, Thor did not return to Asgard. After frequently visiting Steve with the other members, he stayed with Jane, but eventually decided to stay in the tower so he could be alerted of the Super soldier's condition.

As for Clint and Natasha, they spent some time together throughout the week, more than usual as they both blamed themselves for being fragile, although each of the Avengers had their own unique skills and abilities, there was no doubt that they were the weakest in defence. They were not as strong as Thor and Hulk, neither did they have Steve's regenerative abilities or Tony's suit to protect themselves. They blamed themselves and thought that the rest of the team had been nice… if they were stronger and made an escape together they would have all gotten out alive- sure more of them probably would have been injured, but none of them would be to the extent of Steve's.

To this, both of them refused to take on missions for quite a while, but was later talked in by Pepper. She was heartbroken by Steve's selfless act, and felt extremely sad as she always saw him as her oversized little brother. She mentioned that if it were someone else that was injured during that mission, Steve would have certainly guarded and taken care of them, but would also not pass up on any opportunity to help someone else, because Steve was just that kind of guy. So finally, Clint and Natasha promised to take on a few shorter missions, but refused to take on ones that were more than two hours travel time away from the SHIELD medical wing. In reality, if they were in the middle of a mission when a message about Steve was received, they would have definitely taken a quinjet or the helicarrier to get back as soon as possible at all cost.

Finally, Tony had a similar problem to the rest, mostly blaming himself for getting caught up by a single fucking magnet, and left all his meetings to Pepper as he stayed in the tower most of the time- Pepper understood, and balanced her time with only the mandatory meetings, and spent most of her time with the team as well.  
Tony had installed four extra security cameras on both the inside and outside of Steve's room, and visited occasionally when he felt tired from hanging out in the lab all day. He believed that the invasion of privacy was not as important as protecting the Captain, even though SHIELD is heavily secured he would take no chances for evil villains to take this opportunity to even get close to Steve.

Today, was one of those days where he decided to visit, and when he entered the room he saw Steve staring blankly back at him.

"Steve, you're awake?" Tony stared in surprise. "… JARVIS, call the others!"

"Where am ?" Steve says, his voice sounded dry and exhausted already- two weeks of lying down huh? He used his arms to support himself, slightly titling his head to look at him.

"Medical wing of SHIELD."

There was a moment of silence, and the slow and calming sound of Steve's heart rate monitor started to become erratic.  
Did the anaesthetics wear off?

"… Where am I really?" Steve says, and shortly after he takes off running.

"Really, you're in the Medical— HEY WAIT!"

Steve almost drags the bed and heavy medical equipment with him as he runs- he is literally about to run into a wall!

Fortunately, or unfortunately, Steve collapses right before he does so, and Tony runs to catch him before he cracks his skull on the floor, again.

"Seriously calm down! You're completely safe here you idiot!."

Steve stares blankly and hesitates. "…Howard?" Steve says, sounding incredibly confused, and somehow, almost resembling a lost child.

"No, I'm Howard Stark's son." Tony says calmly, he hated being compared to his father, but understood how Steve might see him as Howard Stark more in this situation, after all he had definitely spent more time with his father.  
Waking up from a two week coma must have messed with Steve's head, so Tony forgave him this time.

—

 _As they came closer to the location of the explosion, a certain green object stood out in the blue, mucky ocean._

 _"The hell is that?" Tony said as he looked out the windshield and pulled down his faceplate._

 _It has been about 10 minutes since the initial explosion, and the showering debris had finally stopped, so the Avengers returned to search for The Big Guy and their Captain. Although the battle was over, none of them had relaxed yet, and they were all still tensed up in their suits._

 _Tony used his enhanced scanner to zoom in at the drifting blob of green, only to almost throw up seconds later at the sight. The only thing that stopped him from doing so was the presence of other people in close proximity, and really, his own faceplate._

 _"What is it?" Clint asked as he walked up to the windshield, Tony looked away in response. Moments later, Clint visibly flinched as the quinjet flew closer, Thor stared, and almost lost grip of his hammer again, while Natasha took a small step back._

 _The team had discovered both the Hulk and their almighty Captain, but the horrible injuries on Steve had made the members pretty sick.  
_ _Sure they had all seen pretty terrible sights in the past, but this must have been one of the worst, probably because it was of someone close to their hearts as well._

 _Hulk was floating on his back, tightly hugging onto Steve with both of his overly large arms- he looked fine and awake, but Steve definitely didn't. Without the signature shield, it was honestly hard to tell that Steve was there, his suit had almost been entirely burned off, the only visible pieces left were strangely red and purple like. Luckily all his limbs were, mostly intact, but his skin was visibly burnt to a disgusting degree. His right side seemed worst than his left, probably because that side was closer to the explosion- parts of his suit had burnt and melted into his skin, and some parts seemed charred. It was hard to decide whether or not having a dip in the ocean was a good thing or not, because if Steve hadn't he would've probably been covered in blood from head to toe, but would also have less visible wounds right now. Physically, his most major injury came from his left leg, where parts of skin were chipped off to give an unnaturally wavy and bendy shape- not to mention the visibly big bruised area near his ribs, and shards of metal and glass partially sticking in and out along with the body-covering cuts, some had already sunken into Steve's skin due to the Serum's enhanced healing abilities.  
_ _Last but not least, there was no doubt that Steve had probably taken many internal injuries… which was not great news._

 _"Man of Iron, do you want me to go down instead?" Thor asks politely, noticing Tony's reaction._

 _"No it's fine, the quinjet can't land in water, so someone has to fly them up." Tony tried to say confidently, but had his voice crack mid-sentence. Really, no one can blame Tony for his reaction, out of the team he had definitely experienced the least of horrible injures, his day job was just to loosely organise a company! He hadn't been in war like Thor and Steve, he didn't need to go on frequent missions like Natasha and Clint, and neither was he a doctor like Bruce._

 _But, if anyone, he was definitely the one that could bring Steve to safety the quickest._

 _In the end, after short moments of arguing the whole team ended up jumping down into the ocean to help, Tony somehow figured out some kind of way to have JARVIS stabilise the quinjet to have it hovering just above sea level._

 _As they approached the Hulk, they could hear some unpleasant growling._

 _"What's our plan?" Natasha asked in a general direction as the group swam closer._

 _"I'll try to get Steve out first as soon as possible and have him get some emergency treatment on the quinjet- can I have you guys take care of Hulk in the mean time?" Tony asked, though he was acting already before having a confirmed answer.  
_ _Tony immediately reached for Steve as he got to reaching distance, but was also immediately stopped by Hulk's furious growl and waving around._

 _"Hey Big Guy! Calm down! I'm just trying to help." Tony said in panic- he completely forgot about the "always have a contingency plan" concept._

 _After another minute of flailing around, the rest of the Avengers arrived and seemed to cause the Hulk to grow even more furious._

 _"Stay… AWAY." The Hulk growled dangerously._

 _"Hey hey, calm down, we're here to help you guys! We're part of your team remember?" Clint said as he stared at Steve's injures at a closer distance, worried and careful to make sure that the Hulk doesn't accidentally crush their fragile Captain._

 _"Team." Hulk said slowly, less cautious this time._

 _"That's right, we're a team." Clint said again, already proud of his achievements. He continued using the tone of voice he used often towards his kids "You see, Steve here, our Captain is heavily injured- could you let him go and let us help him?"_

 _Hulk let out another dangerous growl._

 _"Captain cold, Hulk Warm." The Hulk said slowly, giving a deadly glare to Clint._

 _"Steve hurt, Hulk protect." He said again._

 _"Steve alone, Hulk save him". He said finally._

 _A wave of guilt hit the rest of the team.  
_ _The simple, yet strong words by the simple minded Hulk.  
_ _Steve is hurt, cold, and was presumably alone during the explosion, and The Hulk just wants to protect him from all harms, even his own teammates._

 _And he is right to do so._

 _Natasha frowns, but decides that it is still the most important to save Steve right now._

 _"Look Big Guy, we're trying to help Steve, if we don't, he's only going to get worst." Natasha observed the Hulk as she tries to explain the situation, seeing no signs of having a giant green arm whack her in the face, she continues. "You can continue to watch over him, but we'll have to get him back to the quinjet, where he's safe."_

 _"Safe?" The Hulk growls and repeats the word "safe". He stares down at the fragile Captain in his arms._

 _"Safe." The rest of the group repeats._

—

Every single member of the Avengers team arrives almost at the same time right outside Steve's room, most of them panting, with the exception of Thor.  
They take a deep breath and stare at each other, and decides to enter Steve's room first.  
Upon opening the door, the group sees Tony's back facing them, sitting next to Steve's bed, and Steve, still in bed.

"What happened to 'Steve is awake'?" Clint is the first one to speak up.

"He was awake, but then started to panic and run away when I told him we were in the Medical wing- he collapsed a few feet after conducting his escape plan, and was unconscious again." Tony says slowly, staring at the heart rate monitor that has finally calmed down.

"Why would he panic in a hospital room?"

"Who knows, he asked me where he was twice and mistook me as my dad." Tony sighed and finally turns to look at his teammates.

Another moment of blank silence.  
The team stares and wonders.  
And a sudden noise fills the room in an instant.

"Ah fuck. We made a mistake." Bruce says and slaps himself in the head, the rest of the team turns and stares in shock- the good doctor Bruce Banner swore?!

After another short moment of pondering, it strikes Natasha as well.

"Did he ask you what year it was?" she asks, walking closer to Steve's bed.

"No… why would he?" Tony questions, standing up from his seat, he furrows his brow and then comically has his mouth drop to an "O" shape.

"Boys, looks like we'll be needing a room makeover."  
_

 _A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I made it a bit longer to hopefully make up for my inactivity xD I must warn you however the next chapter will probably take some time too. **And gosh has any of you guys seen Civil War yet?** I know it was out for premier a while ago but it still isn't out in my country yet! I'm trying my best to watch it ASAP and I'm now just super hyped!  
_ _And, I hope I'm not super annoying but again, thank you to everyone that has favourited/followed/left a review on this story because it really just warms my heart 3 One of the reasons why I managed to push through my exams were probably because I realised I would be able to write more of this tory to hopefully brighten up the day for everyone else enjoying this story ^^ (even though this is a pretty depressing story xD, but I promise, the fluff will come next chapter!)  
I'll probably have a "thanks to everyone that has left a review" at the end of this whole story just because, it means a lot to me really! So far the people that have left reviews are amazing, so please continue to receive my thanks!_

 _And so, until next time! I hope the next chapter won't be long, but it'll depend on my workload._  
 _I hope everyone will have a wonderful day!_


	4. The Distant Youngster

_A/N: Alright this took me quite some time again I am very sorry! I'll try my best to upload frequently so please wait patiently~ Here I have another chapter that you guys will hopefully enjoy ^^_

 **—**

 **Chapter 4: The Distant Youngster**

 **—**

The first whimper can be heard when Natasha, Clint and Thor steps back to admire their new wall decorations. After explaining the situation the group decides to try their best to assure their Captain that yes, he is waking up only a few weeks after the incident, not another 70 years later. The trio's job is to write the year a million times onto the wall opposite to Steve's bed in as many languages as possible so that he can see it as soon as he wakes up before panicking again. Of course, Natasha has taken it upon herself to make the wall look 'pretty', "Steve is a major art geek, he'd appreciate a nice wall"… thats what Natasha says anyways.

Tony and Bruce is out gathering pictures and articles to stick up on the wall, hopefully even around the room if they find enough.  
They arrive moments later with a small stack of cut-out newspaper and a few printed pictures.

"What happened to 'I'll get enough to drown everyone in the room'" said Clint as he notices the little frowns on the scientists' faces. The stack at most could decorate that one wall, or maybe the three sides if the picture were scattered across.

"Believe it or not we couldn't find a lot of pictures of Cap within this decade." Tony said as he furiously flung the stack of newspaper and print out articles in his hand.

"I never really realised how little pictures Steve took, 90% of his pictures here are of him in his costume. I get that Steve hasn't reviewed his identity towards the public but I'd still expect more than this… he didn't even have as many pictures as Thor!" Bruce said as his frown deepened, at the end he almost ended up yelling in frustration for some reason, and there was a small glint of green in his eyes that automatically made everyone in the room step back.

"What about the pictures he took with us? There has got to be a bunch after all the mission-celebration-dinners he took us to, and those movie nights and random days in the tower?" Natasha questioned as she raised her eyebrow, the last part about Thor surprised her, she turned to observe Thor's confused face as he looked from the small piles and back to the decorated wall.

"I guess we never really realised how distant he was, I mean I never thought we'd get to this status when this first began but I was clearly wrong. Steve right here, it feels like he never got around this feeling…" Tony said as he sighed, staring at the Super Soldier's chest, rising and lowering at a gentle pace. In that instant Tony revisits all the memories in which Steve calls him "Howard", it hasn't happened very often, it's clear that he's trying not to, and Tony is thankful for that. However, it does seem to happen when Steve gets all fuzzy and tired from missions, it upsets Tony, but then again it must be a really hard habit to get rid of… he's been here… has it even been two years yet?

"Geez Tony I never thought I'd see the day where you admit how awesome we are." Clint teases, but scowls at the last statement. Yes, Steve has been distant, somehow the least opened up despite his sometimes a-little-too-perfect-gentlemen personality.  
Come to think of it, Steve, rarely smiles. He smiles at the crowd during those interviews with the annoying reporters he has to put up with, but does he ever really smile…?

And as if on queue, a soft sob fills the room, bringing the attention of all the Avengers towards the source. The bed. Steve.  
But before they can approach, the swings door opens again, and Director Nick Fury walks in.

"What the hell have you done to the wall?!" was the first thing Fury said to the distracted Avengers. Although Captain America is resting in this room, he will leave, and this medical wing will be used for other emergencies. He was observing through the multiple cameras that Tony had set up outside Steve's room, and ultimately decided to check when the team stayed longer than usual.

"Room makeover." Natasha said while slipping a dagger through the sleeve of her shirt and onto her hand. She stared at Nick Fury like an angry and overly protective mother cat, and before Fury can open his mouth to protest he earns a few more glares from the rest of the team.

"Make sure to clean this mess up when you're done." Fury said as he turned around to walk out the door. He is the director after all, but he'd prefer to keep his other eye intact as well. For, probably the fifth time throughout his entire life, Nick Fury felt intimidated.

The Avengers sigh and relax at his departure, they are _never_ doing that again.  
But, the tension is quickly brought back to the bed when this time, a clear crumbly cry resembling the word "Stop" is heard.

The heart rate monitor beeps furiously (yes you heard that right) "Steve?" Tony asked as he recalls the scene in which Steve tries to run away. Immediately, he tries to make sure that history doesn't repeat itself and rambles on and on. "Hey the Avengers are here with you and this is not a trick, we could have Bruce Hulk out right now if you don't believe it- how could anyone re-create such a handsome man like me anyway? Clint, Natasha and Thor is here too so calm—"

"Tony, you're the one that needs to calm down." Natasha said as she calmly cuts off Tony mid-sentence, her facial expression is a mixture of anger and sadness, which is somewhat concerning and discomforting. Tony would prefer a kick, plus, _he is really calm right now._

"Nat's right. Steve doesn't seem… awake?" Clint said as he scans Steve from up to down for the 10th time in the last 10 seconds.

"What do you-"

"I think he's having a nightmare." Bruce said checking Steve's pulse and for any irregularities on the medical equipment.

"Is the Captain being controlled by dark magic?" Thor almost gasped, beginning to swing his hammer as he spins around observing the room for lurking enemies. He glared at every dark corner until Bruce softly patted his back.

"No no no, it's something pretty normal to us, Midgardians," Bruce paused while staring blanking at his teammate at what he had just said. "especially for someone that has lived through war." Bruce continued, and frowns. He stares at Steve, their almighty Captain's as he looks out of character for the second time in two weeks. He has healed pretty well now, he is still in pretty bad shape but a lot better compared to two weeks ago…

Collectively, for the first time even, the team realises how young Steve is.  
The face of America, the World's First Super Hero, the Living Legend, the God's Righteous Man, is just like each and every one of them, and even younger than any one of them, biologically anyway.  
Unlike Steve's usual stern and strong look, he is now weak and fragile, and simply looks like an innocent child in need of protection.

"It's a trap… Stop…" Steve sobs again, scrunching his face up, shifting and twisting into a ball shape, shivering. It was almost a whisper, but rang loudly in the Avenger's ears.

It almost breaks their hearts.

"Can we wake him up?" Clint asked hopefully, to no one in particular.

"No, because of the overwhelming amount of anaesthetics he won't feel a single thing, no matter if we yell and shake, he'll have to wake up himself." Bruce answered, and proceeded to try and walk away to the far corner to hopefully filter out the heartbreaking cries of their leader.

"This is depressing." Clint sighed as he followed Bruce's lead to try and escape the sound. Usually, he would have added a lot more words in between "is" and "depressing", but to respect their Captain he dismisses it this time.

Tony surprisingly stays silent, most of which to cover up the all the random thoughts passing through his brain at this moment.

When has Steve ever even slept? He normally goes to his room early at 9:00 but whenever he visits his room, Steve is usually awake reading a book or sketching away, observing the window or something but never actually sleeping. And every time Tony wakes up, or just plainly escapes the lab from a sleepless night, no matter how early, he swears Steve is always awake already either cooking breakfast or out running, punching sandbags and doing whatever ever the Captain of America does like the healthy Super Soldier he is. Through all this time he's spent in the tower with the rest of the team, twice, twice has JARVIS alerted Tony of Steve's behaviour at night when he "accidentally" punched a hole through the wall. Tony brushed it off at that time thinking that JARVIS was being overly invasive, but now realises those two times must have been pretty serious because it's safe to assume that Steve regularly has nightmares, and JARVIS just wasn't reporting them because of the frequency.

How often does Steve actually sleep?

—

 _A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! And I hope the characters weren't too out of character at all? Once again thank you to everyone that has been following/reviewing/favouriting, and feel free to give me suggestions/improvements because my english isn't great :P_

 _I have a question for you all, you may or may not have noticed how the chapter lengths are kind of inconsistent, I've been starting and ending the chapters at points that seems reasonable and at theme with the chapter. So, do you guys like shorter chapters or longer chapters?  
I personally like longer chapters because it means more content/I can open it up and have a nice long read, but I also understand that some people prefer shorter and quick chapters, so please tell me which kinds you all like and I will adjust according to the suggestions I get!_

And~ Until next time!


	5. Confusion, Surprises and Confession

_A/N: I just watched Civil War on May 6th and IT WAS AMAZING? Not the ending I was looking for though… but I won't spoil it! (You have no idea how hard I am trying right now) I decided to finish the chapter I was working on right away, sadly watching the movie did change part of me, seeing all my favourite characters fight ;-; I hope this doesn't change my writing much though?  
Anyway, looks like a lot of people prefer long chapters so I will keep them coming! More apologies as I keep switching between perspectives, I can't seem to stay as one because I really want to portray every character's emotion xD_

 **—**

 **Chapter 5- Confusion, Surprises and Confession**

 **—**

Beep. Beep.

Plop.

Beep. Beep.

Plop.

Beep.

Steve feels an unusually warm stream on his face.

Beep.

Oh. It must have been another nightmare.

Plop.

Steve gently opens his eyes to the sound of a crystal clear drop of liquid, he visualises the symmetrical ripple in the calming sea.  
His vision is blurry, but he can just about make out a dim light source that kept the dark room lit. Its strange, the soft night light reminded him of a lamp that would keep a scared child company and away from the "monster" under their bed.  
To Steve, the light makes the room just as dark, like always.

This isn't his own room.  
But it's familiar.  
And also a place he doesn't want to stay in for long.

He reaches and tries to rub off the tears on his face, but his arms don't respond.  
So instead, he lightly blinks to get the tears out of his eyes.

Steve listens to the little noises in the room, they're all strangely systematic, with occasional beeps, plops, and breathing that didn't seem to belong to himself.

Then, a small shuffle interrupts the pattern, a shift, the sound of silky fabric against rough bedsheets, and the sound of pages being flipped at a slow and comforting speed.

Breathing. Breathing. Breathing.

"How are you feeling Captain?" whispers a soft voice.

It was sudden, but unusually warm and non-startling as it blended in with the surrounding sounds. To that, Steve realised how much he missed real voices that didn't come from his head.

Steve turns his head to face the source of the voice.  
A person sitting on a chair smiles back at him in response, but were they an enemy or ally? The familiar figure then places their book on the bedside table, next to the lamp that was emitting the dim light. And then there was a pregnant pause, and the room returned back to beeping, dripping and breathing as Steve stared at the stranger.

After minutes of staring, Steve ultimately determined that this person was nice, because they hadn't already started their evil monologue or straight up tried to kill him, yet. Mentally counting the people he knew, which weren't a lot, there was really only one person that he could think of, that would read a book, quietly.

"Bruce?" says Steve, with a little mixture of a groan at the end as he is hit with a sudden wave of fuzziness.

"Yep, welcome back." Says Bruce as his smile grew wider at the mention of his name, the slight concern on his face disappears when Steve finally stopped staring at him. He continues "I suppose that means you've recovered from the concussion, which is fantastic regarding the previous injury." Bruce finishes his sentence as a wave of guilt washes over his face, but he quickly reclaims his composure by distracting himself with the task of checking the numbers on the screen.

Once everything was checked, Bruce happily sat back down onto his chair, but then said something that was almost a sigh, and extremely confusing to Steve.

"Listen Steve, I am very sorry."

Sorry…? What for? Apologies to a person heavily injured in bed is never a good sign!  
Steve shifts his head back and faces the ceiling, a million different thoughts enter his head, trying to recall what had happened before he ended up here.

The first thing that springs to mind is his teammates, considering that Bruce is here. However, he doesn't recall any specific incidents revolving around the Avengers, or else he would definitely remember, so it's unlikely that Bruce was apologising about that. Then, he moves the attention to himself, realising that he feels more numb than painful-anaesthetics never worked with Steve's quadruply enhanced metabolism.

"Oh, no thats not it" Bruce instantly says after noticing Steve's fidget. "If you're wondering why you can't feel anything it's mostly because of the anaesthetics I made. I followed the research on the Other Guy and I was able to create one that seemed to work for you… but what I mean is that-"

Bruce stopped himself when Steve flinches, very slightly, but visible. Immediately, Bruce mentally hit himself (mentally, to avoid angering the Hulk) for vaguely apologising beforehand. Although, it was really hard for Bruce to even think about the incident without having enormous amounts of guilt hitting him. He glances at the clock, 2:40am.

"I guess the anaesthetics weren't as effective, I thought it would last until 3:30. Do you want me to apply more?" Bruce says, already standing up and next to the machine.

"No, I'm fine, been through worst." Steve replies with a questionable tone and another half groan, a confused face, almost unlike himself.

"Alright" says Bruce raising one of his eyebrows at Steve's reaction, however, he soon decides to dismisses his thoughts and proceeds to rise part Steve's bed instead so he could sit up right, he's slept for long enough.  
"Then make sure you don't move too much, don't want to tear your wound again, it was pretty gruesome when you tried to run away last-"

Bruce stops himself once again, this time due to the heart rate monitor. The beeps are getting faster, erratic, just like how Tony describe it last time. Think. _Think_. The whole team spent the last 14 hours in this room for this reason. Just when Bruce's thoughts come to a conclusion, the bed finishes rising, allowing the wall to be visible.  
Perfect.

Bruce takes a deep breath in preparation. "Steve, listen." Bruce says in a serious tone, catching Steve's attention. "Look at the wall in front of you, you've only slept for two weeks, don't worry."

Despite remembering what had happened the last time Steve woke up, he listens to Bruce's sincere voice- it's hard to find someone that can imitate and act as wise and understanding as Bruce. To his surprise, Steve blinks a few times to adjust his focus, only to spot the whole wall carved and decorated with the last year he could remember. The wall is covered with at least 32 different languages stating the same year, to which Steve can only understand 20 of them. What surprises him the most however is the pictures and newspaper articles that Steve recognises, they're all very recent, if Bruce isn't lying about the time.  
He rarely takes pictures as he can never really understand smartphones and cameras as thin as a piece of paper, and unless if they've discovered a way to keep newspaper fresh or reprinted the articles to avoid having them look yellow, Steve is fairly convinced.

Seeing the heart rate monitor slow down, Bruce continues convincing Steve with one last statement, to which he actually has to thank Tony for coming up with it.

"Hey, if you look around more you can see the whole team here, they refused to go home and I volunteered to stay up with my medical knowledge, plus, one very specific green giant backed me up." Bruce smiles, sitting back down again.

Steve nods and takes a thorough sweep around the room, and as if by magic, Steve suddenly notices the whole Avengers team fast asleep around him. Natasha is curled up on the other side of the bed, probably about to wake up due to the commotion and his last panic. Then theres Tony sleeping against the wall, which surprises Steve because he apparently hasn't shipped in his own bed into the room yet. Finally theres Thor and Clint, both lying flat and somehow sleeping comfortable on the floor.

To this, Steve finally calms down. Because if he really has slept for another 70 years, this time they've done a great job to convince him. Even if this isn't the Avengers, Steve can stay until he recovers from his injures. Steve smiles ever so slightly, even if this is a trick, he's happy to believe that his team cared about him so much that they decided to spend their night in… SHIELD's medical wing?

"So, why did you apologise then?" Steve asks to break the silence, to which he sees Bruce's expression sadden.

"It's just that," Bruce pauses and breaks his eye contact with Steve, staring at his bed instead. "I'm ultimately responsible for you ending up here, because I wasn't able to control the Other Guy… he landed a pretty nasty punch on your head. And lets just say that wound didn't end up well when you crash 9000 meters down into the ocean." Bruce finishes, expression filled with sadness, anger and guilt.

"I… it's fine. I'm right here and alive, you said it yourself, I've recovered from any concussion." Steve replies sincerely, back to his Captain America self.

Bruce smiles at Steve's comforting words, but remains silent as he stares at Steve's scar on the head. Its only a scar now, but considering Steve's super healing, any kind of normal wound should be gone by now.

.

"How often do you get nightmares?" comes another voice, surprising both Steve and Bruce.  
That was Natasha. Just like the assassin she is, she managed to wake up and listen to the conversation without disturbing and causing a single noise.

Steve blinks but replies immediately after staring at Natasha's "curious" eyes.

"Not very often." says Steve, somehow able to lie convincingly with a straight face.

Steve was then greeted by two sadden stares in response. Were they disappointed?  
Little did Steve know about the very obvious dried streak of tears and the unconvincingly puffy red eyes.

"What are they about?" Natasha asks as if in an interrogation.

There was a pause, but eventually Steve replies.  
"Events of the war."

Judging by Natasha's tone of voice, Steve quickly realises that Natasha had seen through his lies, and sighs in defeat, and instead started staring at the decorated wall.

"Do you want to tell us about it? It'll make you feel better."

Steve highly doubts it, but theres no point denying or refusing, especially when he's in no position to fight one Natasha Romanova. And so, Steve reverts back to his 90 years old self, or 160 years old self, he still isn't sure, and begins mentioning some of the frequent nightmares with a mix of old school war stories that Steve keeps exclaiming as false representations in current history books.

"Sometimes its when I relive the crash, other times it's Bucky falling off the train or me leading the Howling Commandos into a trap from HYDRA." Steve keeps the details short, because he really doesn't want to suddenly tear up in front of everyone.  
As he's too immersed in reliving the dreams and keeping himself from having a break down, Steve doesn't notice the whole team waking up and slowly surrounding the bed.

"Sometimes, it's of Howard finding me in the ice, he tells me that we've won the war. They tell me how much they've missed me, how much they've built for me. Their sadden expressions tell me how lucky I am to be loved by so many people, and how stupid I was to leave them behind. And then I finally have a date with Peggy, seeing her in a beautiful dress, see offers to teach me how to dance…"

The Avengers grow confused at this particular nightmare as it doesn't sound as sad- Steve has mentioned how he regrets missing a date with Peggy… isn't this?

"…Only to wake up when I reach out to her small and elegant hand, to wake up to the dark and lonely room." Steve finishes with that after a long pause, this was perhaps his worst nightmare of all.  
At this point Steve almost sobs, and he realises that he had accidentally said way too much to a group of people that probably didn't care that much.  
Steve regrets it, and draws the bed blanket over his head.

The Avengers frown at Steve.

They care about Steve, and would never want to see him like this.

…

He doesn't look like a 90 year-old grandpa anymore.

...

And they no longer want to look at "The real Steve".

…

How does Steve even put on such a smile to the rest of the world?

…

There was another long pregnant pause, before someone breaks the silence.

.

.

.

"Then why were you content to your stupid self sacrificing act?" says an angry voice.

-  
 _A/N: The long chapter is finally over! The title refers to basically Steve, in which he is first super confused, then surprised, and eventually confesses to show "Steve" instead of Captain America. And gosh I really ramble_ _ **way**_ _too much/ask a lot of questions/apologise too much... I'm sorr- oh wait... Anyway, I have one last question for you all as I'm determined to make the next chapter the last. My original idea was only around two chapters, but seeing the support I was getting I decided to make it longer and into this, but I also don't want to drag it too long so..._

 _To keep it simple, do you guys like seeing a setting like this? In which Steve expresses his true self and eventually the whole Avengers team just goes "goddammit Steve stop being so innocent and depressing".  
Because I was thinking I could totally have another story after this where the team treats Steve like a little brother, instead of the usual reliable grandpa :P But it's up to you guys if you want to see it. __**Oh and seriously go watch Captain America 3: Civil War, the feels are too strong!**_


	6. Captain America and Steve Rogers

_A/N: I sincerely apologies for being so late! It's honestly really frustrating for me personally when I wait for fanfiction updates because I just, really can't wait? :P Shortly after my last chapter I was bombarded by a wave of assessments from teachers! But nonetheless, I've made it through alive and well and graduated(it was just a mini ceremony, but congratulations to all the fellow graduates as well!), and immediately I've gotten back to try and finish writing this chapter~ so without further-ado, please enjoy this chapter!_

 **—**

 **Chapter 6- Captain America and Steve Rogers**

 **—**

 _"Then why were you content to your stupid self sacrificing act?"_

That was Tony.

"This is not the first time Cap, if you're self aware of it all why do you keep putting yourself in unnessary danger?" He snaps and stares straight at Steve, only to observe the blank and innocent blue eyes peeking through the blankets blinking back.

Tony Stark hates it.  
When growing up, his father could never shut up about the brave and invincible Captain America, how he's sacrificed himself to save the country so dear to him. As much as he used to hate Captain America, now that he's finally met him in person it's hard to disagree with his father's standpoint.  
But as of right now, instead of that superior Super Soldier, all of his mind are vivid flashes of Steve's injured body cuddled up and fragile within the Hulk's arms.

"Says the person that carried a missile into an unknown portal leading to a dimension to who knows where." says Steve, voice still somewhat muffled through the blankets, but generally unfazed by the question.

"I'm the captain of the team, and it's my job to protect everyone at all cost- compare me to the captain of a ship, it's my job to make sure that all the passengers get off safely before I leave myself."

.

.

.

This time, it's the Avengers turn to stare with blank blinking eyes.  
Steve said that almost too calmly as if it was something completely normal to say- to be fair, that is what captains are suppose to do, but Steve Rogers is more than a captain to the Avengers.

And at this point, Tony Stark would totally kick a chair and or Mr. Roger's bed, but he's also afraid of the consequences. He lifts his hands up in surrendering fashion and steps back to lean against the wall, annoyed. Sometimes the stubbornness of this fine gentleman amazes the whole team, to the point where arguing, quipping, whatever, would do nothing to change Steve's perspective. In a situation like this, the best thing to do is to ignore.

Steve lightly shakes his head and turns to face the Avengers with his usually strong and stern face, he puts up his Captain America smile that isn't quite as reassuring anymore.

 _It's because the world needs Captain America more than Steve Rogers.  
It's because he's always Cap, never anything else._

"Well, Captain," says Bruce, turning his head to receive approving nods from the rest of the Avengers, before facing Steve with a deeply concerned face, "you should know that you're more than a captain, and we're more than just passengers on a boat."

 _Here's the bond he never shared with his team._

"We'll be here when the boat sinks." It was strangely Natasha's turn to speak, never once taking her mesmerising eyes off the injured Avenger, she speaks in a surprisingly warm tone. "You don't always have to be the captain, you can be… just…"

"…Steve." says Clint, taking pleasure in finishing off the assassin's unfinished sentence. He takes a step forward, eyes unreasonably soft, "You can be, just Steve." He says, because right now, the teammate before him somewhat resembles his children, and that's not suppose to happen.

 _No._  
 _He can't._  
 _He is and will always be Captain America._

"I can't." says Steve definitively, shaking his head violently this time.  
"I can't, I can't, I can't," he says, "I can't be Steve Rogers, because he doesn't exist anymore, he died in the ice 70 years ago." His face fazed and now peering at the Avengers surrounding him… theres a crack in Captain America.

"When I woke up I was expected to be Captain America, not Steve Rogers. And so I was immediately told that I was needed again because we won the war, a war that I supposingly died in. I was told that everyone I knew survived to live a happy life, continuously mourning my death and honouring me for what I've done… yet…" Steve stutters, because it pains him to even think, it terrifies him, annoys him, confuses him, "yet…", he shuts his eyes, realising what he's unknowingly blurted out, "…I've outlived most of them… while the ones still alive are at the brink of death, I'm alive and healthy." Steve sighs, because Captain America has finally broke, and it's not suppose to happen, especially in front of his teammates. "Do you know what it's like?", he asks to no one in particular, "to have the courage to give up everything you know and love, to crash a plane thinking that you'll save everything, only to wake up later being told that you've survived… while everything you've saved has now left?" Steve twitches, because theres so much emotion within him at this instant that he can't stop, he's overwhelmed, and he just can't express everything he's hid within himself properly. "I know that I did save them, they keep telling me and I know, yet to me, thats not what happened."

The mechanical rhythm from the heart rate monitor accelerates, and all the Avengers can do is to stare wide-eyed at their Captain, to stare wide-eyed at their youngest Avenger, finally, breaking.

"I feel alienated" Steve continues, because he might as well, it's too late to stop, and it doesn't matter if this is a new HYDRA trap and or interrogation, because his biggest fear right now isn't death. "So much has changed and I don't understand, yet no one will listen because they expect Captain America, and Captain America is never allowed to break- Captain America is the captain of the Avengers, he's strong, invincible, un beatable… all he does is to save the world over and over again no matter how much his own world breaks… I can't be, just Steve."

.

.

.

Beep. Beep.

Plop.

Beep. Beep.

Plop.

.

.

.

"Captain America isn't the captain of the Avengers."

That was Clint Barton.

And before the rest of the Avengers storm to throw a chair, whatever unimportant medical equipment, a godly hammer or a knife even, the unusually calm face of the Hawk signifies that he's being completely serious.

"Yes, Steven," that was Thor, "although I've heard legends of the Captain of America, never once had I felt like I was following him." His voice boomed loudly amongst the room, and he crossed his arms to smile at the extremely confused Steve Rogers.

"Thats right," Bruce caught on quickly, "The captain of the Avengers is the one that needed Dr. Banner, the one that could some how earn the Other Guy's complete trust." Once again, Bruce's reassuring smile calms the room and washes away the painfully realistic confessions. As much as the Avengers wanted to say "I understand", the truth is that they don't, and they never will- but they all know and need Steve to know who he is to the team.

Following the flow, Steve indistinctively looks at Natasha, and earns a swift confirmative nod from the fellow assassin. Now, these cheesy lines weren't really for Natasha, so she just stares and tells her story through her captivating eyes. It's weird, through the missions she's been through with Steve they've both somehow developed a kind of bond, just like how Natasha first decided to follow Steve, it was just through one swift nod on the helicarrier. The Avengers never said a word about it, but they all knew that besides Clint, the only other person Natasha truly trusted was Steve. Tony wasn't one to trust especially because of his exposition to the media, and although Thor was a nice individual he was still too oblivious to this world, and Bruce, he was pretty trustworthy, but the first encounter with the Other Guy just left a kind of tension between the two.

Steve however, there was just something about him- he was a fine gentleman of course, the most polite and kind individual, arguably one of the strongest person on this planet…theres just something about him, the fact that he could never lie, the fact that he would still occasionally blush around woman, the fact that he was… Steve.  
The captain, Steve Rogers, was the only one that didn't know enough about himself, the fact that he's kept his guard… but has occasionally, and very rarely let down his guard… the genuine presence of Steven Grant Rogers was something everyone in the Tower enjoyed.

"Thats right," says Tony, finally leaving the walls behind and stepping forward to approach the rest of the team, "I'm following the kid my dad couldn't shut up about, that lame old grandpa from Brooklyn."

And so the team smiles, stands and stares at their youngest Avenger. His face now a mixture of emotions, mainly of shock and… joy.

 _This, is awfully similar to what Bucky had once told Steve._  
 ** _"Hell, no. That little guy from Brooklyn who was too dumb not to run away from a fight, I'm following him."_**  
 _No, he didn't deserve a second chance._  
 _He didn't deserve a second family, as much as Steve saw the rest of the Avengers as family, he was certain the team only saw him as an impressive captain, and at most, a friend… right?_  
 _But this…_  
 _But this…?_

.

.

.

Beep. Beep.

Plop.

Beep. Beep.

Plop.

.

.

.

A single tear drops from the Captain.  
And this time it's finally not of sorrow, but for joy.  
A smile is plastered on Steve's face, and this was a genuine, real smile.

Steve nods, and for once the team sees Captain America fully stand down. Just ever so slightly, they see the scrawny little Steve from Brooklyn peeking his head through the bright and circular shield he's been hiding behind.

What an eventful two weeks this is? This mission-gone-wrong has done nothing but brought the team closer than ever before.

And finally, a thought crossed the Super Soldier's mind:  
Maybe the future isn't so bad?  
Because Steve Rogers isn't afraid of death, and he would give up his life and die again if it meant that he could live with these people, if he could save these people, because they deserve just as much as himself, and he would make the most out of this second chance whether or not it was real.

.

.

.

.

.

.

"So, are you all tired of this room yet?" says Bruce, standing up and staring at the clock that read 3:30am.

"I would most likely enjoy a trip back to the Tower," says Thor, smiling happily before quickly being confused at the expressions of his teammates, "that is if the Captain doesn't mind." He finally added.

Steve opens his mouth to say something, but quickly closes it before any sound escapes his mouth. As Captain America he would definitely suggest staying behind for the SHIELD checkups, but as Steve Rogers, the medical wing is getting pretty uncomfortable.

"But I like the wall." Says Steve, his last and final restraint in trying to convince himself to stay.

"We can get that done no problem, we'll just remove the wall entirely." says Tony, smirking and already taking out his phone to contact JARVIS- right before suddenly flinching. "Shit." he says at sudden realisation, "I almost forgot we basically threatened Fury a while ago."

And the members of the team collectively flinch.

"Well what are we waiting for? I am so getting the out of here if thats the case."

That was Steve.

—

 _A/N: Alright! Thank you all for reading! I hope you liked the story, hopefully the story wasn't weird... I keep thinking the pacing is a bit weird, and I really hope the characters weren't OC-like? Honestly, everyone in the MCU is very well developed, I just feel that not many people think of Steve and everything he's been through, so I basically just let all my emotions and thoughts about him explode, so I hope it wasn't too overwhelming and not fitting?  
I don't know, I don't write really well... so please, tell me what you think so I can improve in future stories! _

_Thank you to everyone that has followed, favourited, reviewed and what not, it really brightens my day when I get a random notification through email xD  
To those who have left an review, thank you to eevee4ever2004 for being the first ever reader of my story and being super supportive, thank you to arc852, Cherry, to lazy to login, Qweb (oh my gosh I read your "A very good team" fanfiction a while back and it was very difficult to stop myself from reading, I didn't want to take inspiration and accidentally draw similarities so I told myself to stop but I couldn't until chapter 10 xD), thank you to SLYNNR, ccchardcccharlotte, PartyInTheBackBuisnessUpFront, jm8121, Amy Hamato, KawaiiKitsuneGirl, RoseJustice (I completely agree with your stand point, but trust me it's an amazing experience at the end of it all, they break your heart and mend it well!), thank you to It'sTimeForYouToBeEqualized, shadowhuntingdauntlessdemigod, avengette221b, and all the guests that took their time to review!_

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 _To make up for my super inactivity, I'll write an extra Epilogue... so look out for that~!  
But until then, thank you for following and reading this very random and Avengers/Steve-centric story xD_


	7. Epilogue

_A/N: Oh my gosh this took forever I am so sorry ;-; Had to deal with life and it's problems, but was ultimately far too guilty to leave this alone any longer... enjoy!_

 **—**

 **Epilogue**

 **—**

"Steven, are you certain that you are in condition to battle?"

"Yes, I'm fine," said Steve, "and remember to use codenames during missions, Thor."

"My apologies."

"But Thor's worry isn't unnecessary," came another voice through the comms, "remember to tell us if you need a rest or something Cap."

The super soldier rolled his eyes, he felt like he was once again being excessively mothered, just like how Bucky would always worry and be all over his scrawny little self back then.

"Certainly." Steve said, and tossed his shield towards the incoming enemies.

This was the fifth time a member has addressed their worries of Steve being back on the battlefield soon after his recovery, and Steve had started to wonder whether or not confessing his worries back then was the right decision.

Banner had asked first at the beginning of the mission, taking on his role as the Avenger's doctor, soon followed by Tony, Natasha, Clint and now Thor at different stages of the mission. The last thing he needed was the Hulk roaring excessively to ask if he was alright, although he has already noticed how the green giant generally stayed in close perimeters of his Captain more than usual, making sure that no more than four enemies would approach him at the same time. Steve was fairly certain that he was alright, and that he could definitely take on more than four people at once, but was nonetheless glad that the team was looking after him.

If anything, Steve felt like he got closer to his teammates, sure he was still slightly awkward, having trouble joining their conversations and what not, but his teammates also kindly made sure to always include their Captain if possible (although, Tony and Clint liked to do so by throwing quips and present cultural references… they were also usually rewarded with a casual whack from surprisingly either Bruce or the deadly Natasha).

Steve concluded that the whole event and aftermath was a positive change, despite the still slightly stingy injuries and seriously annoying mother bears that nostalgically reminded him of his past, he was glad that Steve Rogers could resurface and take over more often. Captain America would never disappear, but little Steve Rogers would put up a good fight- he'd lower his shield more to approach the unknown world, knowing that there would always be a group of people looking after and fighting along side him.

He felt a small tug at the corners of his lips at the thought of this, and he wasn't afraid of letting that enjoyable emotion out as he met up with the Avengers at the centre of the generically evil, abandon warehouse.

After all, as the oldest Captain of the group, he was still somehow the youngest Avenger.

 **—**

 _A/N: Wow, that was short, I had a few ideas but didn't want to get too caught up to cough up another huge story and such. Anyway, thank you to everyone for sticking around my awfully slow updates and probably horrible grammar and typos- I try my best, I swear!  
But really, seriously, to everyone that has followed, favourited and/or reviewed this story, thank you so much, it puts a smile on my depressed face :P  
As for now I have one or two plots for future stories, but I'll probably stick to one shots because gosh I'm really irresponsible when it comes to updating stories- they'll come, eventually..._


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